1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soldering tool having a handle, a heating element, and a feeder mechanism for feeding wire or strip soldering metal, usually tin, through a passage in the handle. The feeder mechanism is arranged such that the manual control of the soldering tool towards the junction as well as the feed of the soldering metal can be performed by one hand, while the operator can control and fix the parts involved in the soldering, by the other hand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In soldering operations, particularly such operations wherein the components involved are very small, e.g. in the electronic industry, great difficulties may be encountered in soldering. The components may change their location when contacted by the soldering tool and they may be difficult to fix before the soldering metal has solidified and has bound the components involved. Considering the small space available in constructions having frequent junctions, auxiliaries supporting the components before fixing cannot be used. Stationary fixtures with holders can be used only exceptionally or in limited assembly steps while such fixtures in complicated and compact units will provide an operational obstacle so that the accessibility required will not be afforded to the operator.
For a satisfactory result of the soldering operation the operator therefore has to support the components involved and to fix such components in the positions wherein they should be located after the soldering, by one hand. The problem is that the soldering tool held by the other hand, at each soldering operation must be provided with a suitable portion of soldering metal before the soldering can take place. This is a time-consuming step, and moreover it is necessary for the operator to take his eyes off from the soldering position and to concentrate on the portioning of the soldering metal onto the soldering tool, such portioning being carried out outside the region in which the soldering has to take place. Thus, the person performing a soldering operation by applying the present technique, particularly in compact and concentrated constructions, has to be observant of two different operational steps at one and the same time, which is rather difficult. The position of the components may be inadvertently changed as a consequence thereof.
The Swedish patent specification No. 342,756 discloses a soldering tool which eliminates said disadvantages. This tool comprises a slide which is operatively connected to a manually operated member over a rack and pinion mechanism to be reciprocated when said member is operated. On the slide there is provided a driving dog which engages a soldering metal wire when the slide is moved in one direction so that the wire is carried along by the slide. The wire is released when the slide is moved in the other direction the wire then being held in fixed position by a latch member. By this mechanism the wire is advanced stepwise in a passage extending through the heating element and opening at the tip thereof, for supplying soldering metal directly to the junction to be soldered.
This prior art feeder mechanism is complicated, and the entire tool is of a specific structure in order to have the feeder mechanism embodied therein.